Hello, first off I’d like to introduce myself: I’m 22 and have been throwing seriously for only half a year. I’m not going to claim to be amazing because most of you are probably better than me! I first got into yoyos during the 1990s yoyo boom when Yomega had all the advertising. I started with a Fireball (which I can’t find sadly) and then later bought a Playmaxx Bumble Bee GT (Duncan Dragonfly now). I didn’t really get into it very seriously partly because I didn’t have easy access to learning new tricks and then yoyos got banned from my school. I started again this summer when I got married and bought my older brother a Bumble Bee GT (and of course I had to buy myself one since I couldn’t find the one from my childhood) for a groomsman present. After surfing the net I quickly realized that this hobby has drastically changed in the last 10 years. I came across yoyoexpert and saw videos of Andre and his Dark Magic and was absolutely stunned. Literally my mouth dropped at the amazing tricks he was pulling off. Imagine coming from a world where all yoyos are responsive (no binds) and then meeting someone who can thumb grind, arm grind, do suicides, whips, slacks, and crazy sick combos. It was really astounding how much things had changed. I had to buy a DM. The last 6 months is history with me struggling at first to do binds and then quickly breezing through the yye tutorials to master tricks.
I think that when reviewing strings it is also important to know what yoyos were used and an understanding of the reviewer’s skill level. As I mentioned before I’m definitely not amazing and probably the average forum user is more skilled than I am. I primarily focus on 1A (all the strings used were played during 1A unless otherwise noted) and dabble in 5A and 2A. I can do pretty much all of the yye tricks and am working on smoothing out ladder escape, yuuki slack, and brain twister combos (THANKS JAYYO!!!).
YoYos used: YYJ Dark Magic, YYJ New Breed (thanks bro), YYF MVP, OneDrop Project2, OneDrop M1 (thanks bro)
Finally on to the reviews!!! I am not going to give a scale rating so please take the time to read the reviews as each has its Pros and Cons. I will also be referencing strings to YYN Highlights (HL) since I feel this is the most commonly used string which everyone has probably tried.
One last note: Please remember these reviews are only my opinion so take that as you will. “Opinions are like buttholes: everyone has one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks.” -Anonymous?
YYN: Highlights:
Info: 100% poly Type 6 or “slick 6” $12 for 100 (Purple, Pink, Orange. These are the colors that I have played.)
Pros: This is the standard string. It is cheap and always available. Quite a few bright colors to choose from. I can pull off the typical whips, lacerations, and suicides when new. Average string tension. Not much else to say.
Cons: Such a short life. This is the main reason I decided to try out all the strings I have. I wanted something that lasts longer. I typically only get about 2-3 hrs of nonstop play out of one of these strings before they get fuzzy and I hate fuzzy strings. These strings compared to most of the others are extremely slow when trying to do double and triple hooks. They really take a lot of force to get the string whipping around, compared to the others.
Overall: Inexpensive, wide variety of colors, bright, 3hrs of play
G-String: Cotton Core:
Info: 50/50 cotton/poly “slick 6 or 8” G-String claims to get 15-18 hrs per string. $9 for 10 (Orange/White)
Pros: This string has a soft cottony feel. Amazing 2-3 color combinations available. It is wound much tighter than HLs. This gives it a much softer smoother feel. I really like the tightness of the twisting. It makes it feel like it is one string instead of two strands wound together. It is a little thicker than HLs. I can pull off the typical whips, lacerations, and suicides.
Cons: This definitely did not last me close to 15 hrs. I got maybe 6+ hrs (and I think that is probably a stretch, sorry I didn’t time my playtime lol) with this string before it became fuzzy and I really hate fuzzy strings. At $9 for 10, this is pretty expensive stuff.
Overall: Expensive, crazy color combos, 6hrs of play
G-String: Intentus:
Info: I’m not sure exactly what these are made of since the site doesn’t explicitly say. I’m assuming the same as the cotton core 50/50 or possibly 100 poly. $5 for 10 (pink/yellow)
Pros: Again G-String has amazing 2-3 color combinations available. G-String makes works of art with their strings. Soft feel and slightly very slightly thinner than HL and CC. Not much to say about the playability; read the cons.
Cons: I’m 6’2” and these strings were about 5 inches too short for me. I ordered them from OneDrop and was very sadly disappointed that they didn’t tell me they were selling the shorts. I think they come in different lengths or at least hope because these were unplayable for 1A at this length for me. I could only stand to play 1A for about 30min or so with these because they were just too short. I hope that I can try some of these that are longer.
Overall: crazy color combos, way way way too short.
Alchemy:
Info: 100% nylon (not sure on this) $15 for 100 (White)
Pros: Wow was I in love with this stuff at first. Extremely smooth and slick. Crazy slick on my hands. I have dry hands and they feel like butter between my hands, almost like silk. These last a very very long time. I think I had one on my P2 for 2 weeks until the twists started to slip (Think about when you untwist a string to put it on the bearing and if you were to keep untwisting the string about half way and then let it twist itself back. It would be kinda messed up and not perfect, that’s what it did). This string never started to get fuzzy and you know how I hate fuzzy strings. I can pull off the typical whips, lacerations, and suicides. People compare this to Angel Hair but as you will read they are completely different not even close to the same in my opinion. Wow are these strings fast. Compared to the Highlights these things whip and hook crazy fast. I can do double and triple hooks/lacerations with the amount of force required to do a single hook with HLs. It really does feel like cheating when you use these to whip/lacerate. Also a cool note is that when whipping them very fast they sing/make a cool fast string noise. I didn’t have the breaking in issue that others have with these. When you get them that’s how they are. They didn’t change much even through my 2 weeks of play with one string. They feel about the same thickness as highlights but much softer to the touch.
Cons: Well no string can be perfect. This string can be really annoying at times. Because it is so slick it is hard to stay on your finger sometimes. If you are not pinching the string when you snap start it can fly off your finger, it happened to me a couple of times. I know people say to twist the loop that you put on your finger but this didn’t really help that much because it just wouldn’t stay tight for me. If you take your yoyo in hand and then remove your finger from the loop and run your fingers down the string like if you were releasing the tension on the string it will mess up the twisting of the string. This can happen a little on some tricks. Because of the material the string is made of and the slickness of it, it isn’t wound very tightly and thus can sort of unwind or the twists can bunch up in areas and then be far apart in other areas creating a very weird feeling string. They hold a pretty good loop for suicides and whips but because the strings are not wound very tight they start to lose their tension pretty fast and need to be adjusted often.
Overall: Extremely slick!, super long playtime: weeks
Angel Hair:
Info: 100% polyamide (nylon) $3 for 5 (Green)
Pros: Like the Alchemy strings, these last an insanely long time. I have been using 1 string on and off for 2+ weeks and it still hasn’t started to wear at all. This string is very thin. It keeps your yoyo very unresponsive. Like the Alchemy they make a whizzing noise when whipped. They are also incredibly fast just like the alchemys when doing whips and lacerations. They hold a really good loop for whips and suicides. A very very good loop. Also the tension on these strings are really good. I don’t have to adjust the tension as much as highlights.
Cons: These strings do require a bit of breaking in, less than 1 hour of play. At first they are very stiff almost like a plastic, they make a _/ shape when on a yoyo instead of that nice curve that you get from other strings. Again I had problems with these strings slipping off my finger or slipping around on my finger. Because they are so thin, slick, and stiff binds can be a little slippery at times. These strings are very rough in my hands. Even after breaking them in they are still really rough in my hands.
Overall: Insane amount of playtime for 1 string and holds great loops
Chaos: 122:
Info: 100% poly these come with every OneDrop yoyo stock (I believe) $4 for 10 (White)
Pros: Finally a company making long strings!!! I would rather a string be too long so that I have to cut it than a short string like the Intentus I have which is unplayable for me. They are about 6 inches or so on average longer than highlights. These are the Chaos version of YYN HLs. They do last longer than the HLs but, not much longer. Probably 4+ hrs of play before I get the dreaded fuzzies. It seems that their website is down right now but if memory serves me right they have quite a selection of colors like G-String. They hold good loops for slacks, whips, etc. and have about the same tension as HLs.
Cons: Too expensive for just a 100% poly in my opinion. Faster on a whip than highlights but not nearly as fast as alchemy or angel hair.
Overall: More expensive than YYN HL for not much better quality IMO.
Chaos: 422:
Info: some blend of polyester and stiff nylon I think (more info anyone?) $4 for 10 (red/orange and yellow/tan)
Pros: LONG!!! I really love the length on Chaos strings and these are even longer than the 122s I have. These are great for 5A when you want your string to be long after you loop it onto your counter weight. There are soo many great things to say about this string. These have amazing play time. Not as long as the alchemy or angel hair but even after 2 weeks of play there is only minor wearing that is noticeable. Much faster on whips/lacerations than 100% poly, but not quite as fast as the nylons. I can still do double and triple whips fairly easy. These hold great loops for whips and slack tricks. After these have been worn in a little they feel pretty soft and smooth. They hold great tension and I don’t need to adjust it nearly as often as other strings. They come in some pretty cool colors not quite as wide and varied as G-String.
Cons: Honestly I don’t feel there is any downside to these strings. Sure they aren’t as fast and slick as alchemy or as tightly wound as G-String but, they last an amazingly long time and they do everything and more that I want from my string.
Overall: A+ best string I have used yet. Long life, great suicide/whip loops, fast, and smooth.
Sorry about any misspellings or errors I may have; my wife is the English teacher not me lol.
One final note: To all of you forum users that sell string please send me a message or post here. I would love to buy some of your string to test out or of course would gladly accept any donations from anyone that has string that I have not reviewed (yea I know there is a lot).
Thanks and have a Happy Holiday!
